Host of “Elevated Listening” on WRTC Tunes Us Into His Wavelength

Jewelz Barbor ’25

Unmanageable Editor

Radio host Jay List, known on air by his DJ moniker “P. Tentious,” has kept the phones at the WRTC station ringing off the hook with calls from eager fans asking when he will return to “Elevated Listening,” his increasingly-popular show. 

List’s last broadcast was six months ago, in which he played MP3 files found on a flip phone recovered from a landfill in Eritrea. He refused to confirm the rumors that this show brought in a record-breaking $10,000 of cumulative donations to the station, but he did admit that he had received a live yellow-cheeked gibbon as a gift from an anonymous millionaire several days after the program aired.

Due to the auditory nature of his medium of choice, List appreciates that this grants him a degree of anonymity, at least until he opens his mouth. “Otherwise I would have people rushing for my autograph all the time!” he laughed. He prefers to cultivate a mysterious vibe that does not lend well to a constant entourage of fans. 

“Look, I understand the demand. I really do,” List told the Tripod. “But the listeners have to appreciate that finding music this obscure and of such an eclectic taste takes an immense amount of time and effort.” Indeed, he reported that it takes him anywhere from three months to two years to prepare a 90 minute setlist. “Part of the difficulty is that I need to convert each song into a completely lossless format.” List considers himself to be an audiophile, and will often burn his setlist onto a CD, press it into vinyl, and then inscribe it into a wax cylinder in order to achieve the optimal sound. 

“Sometimes, the magnetic fields of the Earth will be slightly off kilter, producing a nearly inaudible industrial hum over the transmitter,” he said. “Sure, on every third Thursday of the month I play exclusively nearly indauble industrial hums, but if that happens on any other day, I might as well just cancel the show.” List’s dedication to perfection is what keeps listeners returning time after time.

List also revealed that he has been dabbling in recording and producing his own music. “Yeah, I’ve coined this new genre called ‘sandalcore.’ It’s kind of like ‘clogwave’ but instead of clogs it’s the soles of two sandals gently slapping together.” He then demonstrated by removing his own shoes and softly clapping them for approximately 20 minutes before saying, “Or something like that.”

List was unwilling to provide a full preview of his upcoming broadcast, but he did hint at its contents: “I’ve been really into chants from the cargo cults of Melanesia lately. Their sonic quality is simply unrivaled.” Tune in this Friday at 7:30 PM to get a taste of the next great frontier in radio.